MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will soon visit Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin, the two countries confirmed on Monday, after U.S. officials said the pair would discuss possible arms deals.

Kim will visit Russia in the coming days at the invitation of Putin, the Kremlin said, while North Korean state news agency KCNA said the two would "meet and have a talk", without elaborating.

The North Korean leader appeared to have left aboard a special train bound for Russia, South Korean media reported on Monday, citing unnamed senior government sources, but neither Moscow nor Pyongyang immediately confirmed an exact schedule for the visit.

Whether Kim made the trip for his second summit with Putin had been closely watched by governments because of recent overtures that signalled closer military cooperation between the nuclear-armed North and Russia as it wages its war in Ukraine.

Despite denials by both Pyongyang and Moscow, the United States has said talks are advancing actively

for North Korea to supply arms to Russia which has expended vast stocks of weapons in more than 18 months of war in Ukraine.